Voyage Sales Onboard

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Judging by the vast number of red cards I'm seeing being presented around the ship it may well be new to Cunard people seeking new bookings rather than old timers like me!

 

I'll have a quick look at 7.30 tomorrow but I can't miss my disembarkation slot as my husband is collecting me before an important work appointment.  That comes first as it pays for the cruises ...

I do hope, for your husband’s sake, that they do a better job of handling disembarkation than they did a fortnight ago.

[Megabear2]

Just now, exlondoner said:

If that is the case, it is excellent news and it seems the new ship is doing everything Cunard hoped for. It is certainly different from our voyage which had more passengers who were very elderly and had movement difficulties than I can remember, and were multiple repeaters. (Very proud of myself as I’ve remembered the significance of red cards.)

Speaking to a few they are trying out Cunard as the price for this cruise dropped very steeply after final payment date.  Several have mentioned they wouldn't normally choose Cunard as they had perceptions of old fashioned and class divisive.  Most are saying they will come again, but the pricing of lower grade cabins will need to be right for them to consider, quite a few have mentioned moving across from P&O in particular.

[Winifred 22]

38 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Shock horror, two women in senior positions! I bet they still get ignored in bars if alone.

Principal Medical Officer onboard is a woman I was told.

[S1971]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Well judging by the amount of disappointed people today and on the other seadays they are going to lose a lot of potential bookings by not answering the telephone or being able to leave a message.

 

A great shame but their loss.

 

Given the numerous attempts you and others have made to speak to them, I'd be inclined to agree , "it's their loss". 

[david63]

1 minute ago, S1971 said:

 

Given the numerous attempts you and others have made to speak to them, I'd be inclined to agree , "it's their loss". 

Is it?

 

I suspect that many will just grumble about it and go and book when they get home

[S1971]

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

Is it?

 

I suspect that many will just grumble about it and go and book when they get home

 

Most probably, perhaps that's Cunards thinking, so no additional discounts for booking onboard perhaps 🤭

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, S1971 said:

 

Most probably, perhaps that's Cunards thinking, so no additional discounts for booking onboard perhaps 🤭

For the sake of the £300 saving on my £10,000 probably not but the loss of the 10% for early booking by waiting to get onboard is a different issue.  I must confess to not thinking about it for a couple of days until my husband asked if it was booked yet but I never dreamt I'd not get an appointment at some time.

[S1971]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

For the sake of the £300 saving on my £10,000 probably not but the loss of the 10% for early booking by waiting to get onboard is a different issue.  I must confess to not thinking about it for a couple of days until my husband asked if it was booked yet but I never dreamt I'd not get an appointment at some time.

 

I guess if they do this regularly that's a lot of pounds Cunard are saving and customers are losing.

 

You'd think they would be pulling you in to book, not push you away.

 

 

[King Amo]

I would have thought those on board would be on a very healthy commission too, so they would be incentivised to get as many guests seen and 'banked' for themselves over any other agent. 

[Megabear2]

8 minutes ago, King Amo said:

I would have thought those on board would be on a very healthy commission too, so they would be incentivised to get as many guests seen and 'banked' for themselves over any other agent. 

Perhaps demand is so high they've very little left to sell!

[S1971]

10 minutes ago, King Amo said:

I would have thought those on board would be on a very healthy commission too, so they would be incentivised to get as many guests seen and 'banked' for themselves over any other agent. 

 

You'd of thought so wouldn't you.

 

 

[Winifred 22]

16 minutes ago, King Amo said:

I would have thought those on board would be on a very healthy commission too, so they would be incentivised to get as many guests seen and 'banked' for themselves over any other agent. 

I wouldn’t think they are on commission I have never experienced a hard  sell. 

[S1971]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Perhaps demand is so high they've very little left to sell!

 

If only they'd speak to you, then at least you'd know 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6 by S1971

[Jim_P]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

Forgive a silly question but what is the great attraction to booking onboard? Are there some amazing deals to be had?

Not in my experience. $200 OBC for a $6000 cruise and the price otherwise the same as was on the website. Only real advantage was a low flat rate deposit for every cruise ($300).

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said:

I wouldn’t think they are on commission I have never experienced a hard  sell. 

I don't think hard sell comes into it though, as assumedly you book the appointment knowing you are wanting to buy.  I cannot see many "window shopping" wasting time on their holiday.

 

[MylesS]

Worth noting the voyage sales staff onboard Queen Anne currently are great. Chris helped me with last year's QM2 summer trip, and Charlotte helped us with some other trips + this year's Queen Anne summer trip.

I appreciate this is in part because we're spending money, but they're always so happy to see us and seem to take a genuine interest in how we've been.

Unsure of who the 3rd person is, as I've never dealt with them. But I'm sure they're great also.

[Megabear2]

1 minute ago, MylesS said:

Worth noting the voyage sales staff onboard Queen Anne currently are great. Chris helped me with last year's QM2 summer trip, and Charlotte helped us with some other trips + this year's Queen Anne summer trip.

I appreciate this is in part because we're spending money, but they're always so happy to see us and seem to take a genuine interest in how we've been.

Unsure of who the 3rd person is, as I've never dealt with them. But I'm sure they're great also.

I'll never know!

[Winifred 22]

12 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I don't think hard sell comes into it though, as assumedly you book the appointment knowing you are wanting to buy.  I cannot see many "window shopping" wasting time on their holiday.

 

I have not always booked, sometimes  I or my daughters just see what prices and cabins are about and then  we may book or we may not. We may come back later or not. I don’t feel it’s a waste of my time. 

. 

[Megabear2]

Just now, Winifred 22 said:

I have not always booked, sometimes  I or my daughters just see what prices and cabins are about and then  we may book or we may not. We may come back later or not. I don’t feel it’s a waste of my time. 

. 

That's fine if you're happy to do that, however I would only go if I actually want to make a booking or was near as certain that I'd be doing so as nice though if sure these guys are i don't want to waste mine or their time. I can get a rough idea of the current prices from the website as I'm pretty sure unless an extra discount is on offer they'll be working with the same figures.

 

Obviously if that's what a lot of these people are doing it explains why there aren't enough appointments if you definitely want to book. 

 

Meantime my cash stays firmly in the bank when it could be with Cunard and with time to discuss other options at home I may not book.

[Jonem2001]

I don’t usually bother with Voyage Sales on board, as I usually opt for ‘shorties’ and there’s no incentive to do so for those versus booking online. But I did use the office last year on QV to book a seven-nighter to get the extra OBC, and found the experience enjoyable.

 

I used the Grills Concierge to arrange an appointment as soon as I boarded, and it was for the following day - I got the impression they had limited availability even that early. We turned up, knowing our cruise, cabin grade, and preferred available cabin (having done a dummy booking over breakfast) and were done and out in ten minutes.

 

The Cruise Specialist - alas, I can’t recall her name - said we were unusually organised, and that she got the full range between ourselves and people turning up with ‘I’d like another cruise, don’t mind what, can you help me narrow it down?’. On that basis, I’d imagine predicted the length of the necessary appointment slot would be rather hard, and thus capacity limiting.

 

That said, I do think it’s in Cunard’s interest to maximise appointment capacity to at least discuss options. I wouldn’t say we got the ‘sell’, but we were definitely more inclined to book whilst aboard and enjoying ourselves…

[MCC retired]

We just want to do a Future Cruise Deposit.

Last QM2 sailing when we called the purser to make an appointment to purchase

 FCD’s , purser told us that they were no longer available for purchase so don’t bother.

Came home , found out here on CC that was incorrect.

Contacted Cunard and they made good on the wrong info and we purchased FCD’s over the phone.👍

 

[david,Mississauga]

Those at the diamond level of the CWC have priority appointments with the on-board sales office. The last time we used that benefit was 11 months ago. Is that still offered?  Of course, if you can't get through on the phone it doesn't help.  When we are in the Grills the concierge can arrange that. 

[david63]

4 hours ago, david,Mississauga said:

Those at the diamond level of the CWC have priority appointments with the on-board sales office

OK it could be considered as a loyalty "perk" but from a business perspective that is illogical. Those at that level will book anyway, one way or another, whereas Cunard need to try and retain those who are just starting out on their Cunard journey.

[Wordzz]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

OK it could be considered as a loyalty "perk" but from a business perspective that is illogical. Those at that level will book anyway, one way or another, whereas Cunard need to try and retain those who are just starting out on their Cunard journey.

Yes, I'm all in favour of removing yet another 'perk' from those of us who have spent thousands to reach Diamond status. And FWIW, we always try to book on board, so it is a useful 'perk' for us.

[david63]

1 hour ago, Wordzz said:

Yes, I'm all in favour of removing yet another 'perk' from those of us who have spent thousands to reach Diamond status. And FWIW, we always try to book on board, so it is a useful 'perk' for us.

The perk aspect can easily be resolved by giving you the same deal that is available onboard to any bookings made within, say, 14 days of disembarking.